


I'm Home

by Rynnsama



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Comforting, Friendship, Gen, Sad Billy, mentions of abuse, possibly freebat hinting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 15:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18471976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynnsama/pseuds/Rynnsama
Summary: Billy is still trying to deal with the rejection from his mother while trying to adjust to his new family life.





	I'm Home

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my best friend for helping me out and putting up with me lol Also not sure if this is a one-shot drabble or if there will be more to come in the future. I guess we shall see what happens.

“I’m home,” Billy uttered softly, the words sounding sincere enough on the outside but inside they rang hollow. 

He glanced at the faces gathered around the oversized table to enjoy their Christmas dinner, all of them smiling, laughing, happy... but not him. 

This should have been the greatest moment of his young life. Together they had beaten the bad guy and saved the world. And because of that he now had a place to belong and a family that wanted and loved him unconditionally, no questions asked. A family he could finally celebrate holidays with. Happy ending all around, right? 

But something still weighed heavy on his heart, a fear that maybe this was really just all too good to be true. 

After all, he had spent his whole life believing and hoping that his real mother still cared for him, that their brief time together had been happy and genuine. Only to have recently discovered that she thought of him as nothing more than a burden and was glad to be rid of him the first chance she got.

His chest tightened and his throat felt dry as he recalled that look when he told her who he was. It wasn’t the look of a relieved mother finally reuniting with her long lost son.. but a woman who regarded him as little more than trash to be dealt with, no.. even less than that. 

His fork fell to the floor with a resounding clatter effectively drawing the attention of everyone at the table.

“Billy?”

Naturally, It was Darla who spoke up first, her tiny fingers latching onto his sleeve and tightening gently as she gazed up at him with wide, concern filled eyes. Freddy chimed in shortly after and although he attempted to speak nothing more than an incoherent little squeak was uttered. 

Glancing desperately at Freddy for some kind of help he gaped mutely, his vision beginning to blur now as tears welled in his eyes and threatened to spill out at any second.

He had to wonder.. would they grow tired of him too one day? Abandon him.. forget him. He’d already proven time and time again that he wasn’t perfect, far from it in fact.. and had for years laboured under the delusion that somewhere, someday.. he’d find a mother who had never once sought him out.. or even missed him in the slightest. Maybe this feeling of belonging was fake too.. just his own desperate way of making himself feel better. 

He couldn’t take that kind of rejection again, and although he wanted to believe in these people and trusted them for the most part, deep down he was still terrified of losing everything important to him all over again. 

Try as he did to act independent and grown up, the truth was he was still just a kid, vulnerable and afraid, superpowers or not. 

His body shuddered as the tears began to roll down his cheeks, his hands flying to his face to wipe them away but he couldn’t seem to erase them fast enough.

“Sorry... I..” Billy hiccuped, his chair screeching against the wood as he abruptly stood and took a few steps back towards the hallway. 

“Um, excuse me…” He barely managed to get out before wheeling around and hurrying up the stairs to his bedroom. The door was swung shut behind him as he immediately plopped down onto the bottom bunk and buried his face in his hands.

“Stupid... Stupid!” He croaked through his sobs, his sleeve smearing tears and mucus across his cheeks as he sniffled.

“God, get it together, Batson…” he muttered, attention drawn back towards the door as he picked up the distinctive step, thunk, step, thunk of Freddy making his way up the steps. 

“I’m fine, okay? Really..” His strained voice called out as he sensed Freddy draw closer and linger just beyond the door.

“Fine my ass!” Freddy called in response. He couldn't figure out where this reaction had come from. Hadn't they kicked some super serious villain ass out there? Wasn’t it Christmas, a time to enjoy? Though, he barely knew Billy at all. Who knew what was going through that kid's head most of the time. Of course, everyone at the table had looked at him. They were roommates, best friends even, so  _ obviously _ , he should know how to deal with Billy.

Slowly the door creaked open and he made his way inside. It was funny how cumbersome his crutch now felt after having the ability to fly.

Billy quickly lowered his head as the other boy entered. Staring down at the floor he couldn’t bring himself to face Freddy right now.. not like this.

“I'm speaking as the Superhero expert here and I know for a fact that Batman doesn't go home every night to cry after he saves the day. Seriously what's up? You regretting your decision to share your power with all of us or something? Cause I mean too bad, you're stuck with us now. Besides you broke your magic staff or whatever that was so there's that…”

“No way, of course not…” Billy grumbled as he wiped a few more tears from his eyes, thankfully they appeared to be drying up as he tried to focus on breathing and calming himself the fuck down.

Although he didn’t exactly appreciate being intruded upon he had to admit that Freddy’s voice, grating as it could be, was comforting.

“It’s just…” Billy began, his voice still weak, trembling, but regardless he pressed on as he slowly lifted his head and revealed his damp cheeks, quivering lips and bloodshot eyes to his best friend.

“It’s.. it was my mom…” His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered that Freddy had been absent during that whole exchange. The other didn’t have a clue what had happened and due to the whole super villain and saving the world thing kind of taking priority he hadn’t had the chance to tell him yet. “Freddy, I found her.”

“Oh, shit....” he had not been prepared for the conversation to go nuclear. It was no secret that Billy had continually run away from all his previous homes in search of his mother. He sat beside the other, his crutch falling to the ground at their feet.

“So obviously your crying for one of two reasons. One, you're leaving and are just now realizing that you're losing the best roommate imaginable and can't bear the thought of life without me. Or two, things didn't go so great with your mom.” Freddy’s voice tapered off as he finished.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that things had to have gone to shit. That was the lot of foster children. You weren't a foster child if your parents had wanted you. Freddy couldn't help it though, humour and sarcasm were just as much a crutch for him as the physical one he carried with him every day.

The humorous attempt at comfort though ill-timed actually earned the fellow brunette a bit of a smile as Billy averted his gaze once more and wiped the last of the lingering tears away with his sleeve.

A moment of silence passed between them as the scene played out in his mind, over and over. The exasperation in her voice, the disgust in her eyes, all of it agonizing like a knife in the gut; twisting, tearing him apart.

He laced his fingers, his hands shaking much like the rest of him before he finally spoke again. 

“Yeah, she uh, didn’t want me. Didn’t even miss me, not even a little…” Billy shrugged his shoulders and exhaled a heavy, shuddering breath, a weak laugh following.

“Guess everyone was right all along, huh? I was just wasting my time. Just a stupid kid. I should have realized it sooner... and fuck, maybe I did but I just.. It was all I had.”

Freddy felt at a loss. He had no idea what to say or what he could do at all to comfort the other. Reaching out he placed his hand on the others, holding it and offering his support.

Billy slowly raised his head as Freddy’s hands overlapped his own, they were small but warm and lessened his shaking somewhat as he began to calm down and slowly pull himself back together.

“You weren't stupid…” Freddy said softly, “Your memories of your mom were good, weren't they? All you knew her as was the loving type. Why wouldn't you chase after that with everything you have?” he swallowed hard, trying to hold back his own emotions.

Having had avoided being part of families and trying to make it on his own, Billy wasn’t exactly comfortable with or experienced when it came to all this touchy-feely mushy stuff. Though it wasn’t as horrible as he had once believed. He’d never let the other know, but the gesture did make him happy, at least a little.

“Look I... I don't really talk about this but uh, my parents didn't leave me. I was taken from them. I'm sure you've realized by now I'm a little different, and I don't just mean in the physical sense. I'd annoy my parents and they didn't have the best ways of dealing with their annoyance.” His gaze focused solely on the crutch, at this point, the beatings were a blurry memory. “So I guess I had nothing to go looking for. In a way I guess I'm jealous of your memories of your mom.”

Maintaining his silence as Freddy continued to carry the conversation Billy cocked his head curiously to one side, obviously intrigued especially because Freddy’s condition was something he had wondered about ever since day one, although it never seemed like an appropriate time to sit down and ask  _ so hey how’d you end up crippled anyways? _

“Holy Moley…” He uttered, at a loss otherwise. His throat was beginning to feel dry again as Freddy opened up to him, revealing a past you never would have imagined given the other’s upbeat personality and caring disposition.

Freddy glanced back up at Billy. “She may not want you Billy Batson, but I do…” His face flushed as he realized how corny that must have sounded.

“Freddy, I…” it was his turn to offer support now, their hands switching roles and he grabbed the smaller boy and held him tight.

“I’m so-” He stopped himself from blurting out the full apology. The last thing the other needed right now was pity and the same forced apologies he likely had to deal with on a daily basis, multiple times, even. 

Biting his lip he began again, carefully this time. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing because you’re kinda’ stuck with me now, Freeman.” He leaned closer, their foreheads pressed together, “And no matter what happens, I’ll always find my way back to you.”

Suddenly he felt like an idiot. It didn't matter what had happened in his past, what mattered was now. And right now, he knew that he would never be alone again.


End file.
